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Observation lounge
, as seen from space]] The observation lounge or conference lounge was a special designation referring to the briefing room on ''Excelsior''-, ''Galaxy''-, and starships as well as on the Reman warbird Scimitar. It included an expansive view of space on one side of the room. ( ; ) , when that set was named the "away cabin". (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 3rd ed., p. 21) In the script for , the conference lounge was called a "lounge deck" and the only detail of its design which was described was that it had "huge windows" that provided a view of "the immense span of the Starship's outer surface." |Although space station Deep Space 9 wasn't depicted as having an observation lounge, the station did have an office for the facility's commanding officer and Production Designer Herman Zimmerman once likened it to an observation lounge. Pointing out the similarities, he said, "You can go in there and have private conversations. You can also have a fairly large group in there, 'cause it's a reasonably good-sized set. It has a window to space and you can watch the stars moving, out the window." ("The Deep Space Nine Scrapbook", DS9 Season 1 DVD special features)}} Starfleet design Aboard Starfleet vessels, the observation lounge was used as a meeting place for the ship's senior staff as well as special events and gatherings. Some went to the observation lounge simply for the view. Admiral Jameson usually found himself in the ship's observation lounge, looking out at the stars, just prior to a mission. ( ; ) On both the Galaxy- and Sovereign-classes, the room was elongated, spanned the entire area aft of the bridge on Deck 1 and featured a large conference table. There was also a series of seven viewports, composed of transparent aluminum. ( ) These viewports spanned from close to the floor to up along the angled ceiling, which faced the rear of the ship. ( ) ) The windows from TNG's observation lounge were reused for the equivalent area seen in and , as well as the potential Ten Forward seen in .}} Excelsior-class The observation lounge on the Excelsior-class was located on the same deck as the main bridge. In 2293, the location of this lounge was labeled on a MSD of the . ( ) Galaxy-class ]] ]] The observation lounge on the Galaxy-class was connected to the bridge through a short, ramped corridor, which originated at the upper starboard alcove of the bridge and led to a door on the starboard side of the conference lounge. Another door, on the port side of the room, led to another corridor, ( ) at the end of which was a turbolift. The shape of the conference table matched the curvature of the exterior hull, and had seating and data pads for ten individuals. The usually sat at the head of the table, at either side. In 2365, two display screens were added and located at either side of the room, behind the table and adjacent to the doors. The observation lounge was decorated by plants, and had two replicator terminals. ( ) The room was also fitted with audio and visual recording devices behind a panel. ( ) , while Picard tours the ship. However, the room does not appear during this sequence. In fact, the only scene of "Encounter at Farpoint" that is set in the location was not scripted to be, as that scene was intended to be in Picard's cabin instead. |Different angles of the conference lounge were shown on TNG and, when directing episodes of the series, Les Landau was careful to make varied use of the room. "I remember he was always looking for new ways to shoot the observation lounge," offered Michael Okuda. ( audio commentary, TNG Season 6 Blu-ray) However, filming in the set was notoriously difficult. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 25/26, No. 6/1, p. 83)}} USS Enterprise-D For a number of years, the wall opposite the windows on the featured an -style display of scale sculptures of six of the Earth vessels previously commissioned as the USS Enterprise as of 2364. ( ) , as depicted in . Each of the sculptures was created with fiberglass-covered foam. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 3rd ed., p. 21) Ronald D. Moore has stated that these ships are now in his possession. "I saved them from the dumpster," he revealed. "They're in my storage locker, waiting to be mounted on a wall." (''All Good Things'' (Blu-ray) audio commentary)}} In 2366 of an alternate timeline, the battleship ''Enterprise-D had an observation lounge which omitted the display of Enterprise models and seemed to have only one door. However, the conference table was still a feature of the room, as was a row of windows built into one of the walls. The conference table was at waist height so that occupants stood at the table. One addition was a large tactical graphic of the Enterprise-D, illustrated in blue and yellow on a transparent, vertical stand.'' ( ) . ("Yesterday's Enterprise" audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray)}} The display of Enterprise''s was removed, for unspecified reasons, in 2368. Also at this time, ribbed light vents were added below the windows. ( ) In 2369, the display screens were permanently illuminated, with the port display showing information about the ''Enterprise systems and the starboard display giving status reports of various Starfleet vessels. ( ) , although the sculptures of the ships were returned to the back wall. "In fact," recalled Ronald D. Moore, "I loaned them back to the company to do that .... They had to ask my permission to bring them back in for that show." (''All Good Things'' (Blu-ray) audio commentary)}} The conference lounge served a multitude of purposes; in addition to being a meeting place, it could also host informal parties ( ) and held events for "Captain Picard Day". ( ) In late 2367, the observation lounge was decompressed after the transparent aluminum of a window was temporarily phased out of normal space by pockets of subspace instability in a dark matter nebula. ( ) In 2370, effects due to the D'Arsay archive transformed the observation lounge into a swamp. ( ) ) The set was subsequently redressed to serve as an art studio in , the captain's dining room in and , Beverly Crusher's rehearsal room in , a meeting room where the Federation Archaeology Council gathers in , and the officers' mess in . The set was rebuilt for a brief scene during , although there were several minor changes from the original design.|The scenes that take place in the observation lounge were a subject of ridicule from the TNG writing staff, the members of which occasionally visited the set and discussed stories there. "We used to make fun of what we call 'the obs lounge scenes,' because those are generally scenes," said Brannon Braga, with a laugh, "where a lot of exposition came out and, in more unfortunate episodes, technobabble." Ronald D. Moore elaborated, "The obs lounge scenes tended to be written almost by a patter, like you could really almost just write it rhythmically. Picard sitting down. 'Report.' And then, Riker gives the report and then Geordi says, 'Well, the TECH problem with this is that it's gonna blow up the ship for TECH reasons,' and then Data says, 'But there is a theory, of how we could TECH the TECH.' And then Riker says, 'Has it ever been done before?' And Geordi says, 'No, but he's right; if we just TECH the TECH,' and then Picard eventually says, 'Make it so. " (''All Good Things'' (Blu-ray) audio commentary)}} , Gates McFadden was hampered by filming in the observation lounge set. "What everyone said was true, the observation lounge was the hardest set to shoot," she admitted. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 25/26, No. 6/1, p. 83)|At one time during the writing of , Brannon Braga made a mental note that he and Ronald D. Moore were writing the "last obs lounge scene," in Braga's words. (''All Good Things'' (Blu-ray) audio commentary)}} Sovereign-class ]] in 2379]] The layout of the Sovereign-class observation lounge was similar to that of the Galaxy-class; the conference table was curved in a similar manner, and there was also the same number of seats. However, the room connected directly to the bridge via two doors on either side of the master systems display. Steps inside the lounge led down to the table level. The room also lacked viewscreens during the early 2370s. USS Enterprise-E In 2373, the conference lounge also had a "past Enterprise''s" display, though it took the form of a large glass case enclosing seven full models on stands (the ''Enterprise-D being the most recent). The display was damaged when Captain Jean-Luc Picard smashed the case with a phaser rifle in a fit of hysteria following an attack from his one-time abductors, the Borg. ( ) By 2379, the case was split to either side of a new, large computer terminal and the doors were relocated. ( ) . That revamped set was later connected to the bridge for the first time in . For its appearance in the ENT finale "These Are the Voyages...", it was restored to its TNG appearance.}} de:Aussichtslounge fr:Salon d'observation pl:Pokój odpraw Category:Spacecraft sections